Could LIGO be wrong?
Gravitational waves were the first big story on this blog. I like gravitational waves. So when when something about it makes appears on my radar, I listen.
Even if it means it could all be wrong.
Tag: Statistics
Why galaxies are flat (and Earth isn’t)
A tale of gravity making things round, but in different ways. Continue reading Why galaxies are flat (and Earth isn’t)
Things numbers do, things numbers don’t
Polls are wrong! Stats mean nothing! Numbers can’t describe people! Maybe. Or maybe we’re doing something wrong in handling them. Continue reading Things numbers do, things numbers don’t
Earbuds must tangle!
We’ve all been through it: we want to listen to some music, take our earbuds out of our bag only to find—THE HORROR!—an impossibly tangled mess. Can’t anyone assuage this terrible scourge? According to physics… nope, not really. As it turns out, earbuds tangle up because of a simple but deep reason. Namely, there are precious few ways for a chord to register as “tidy”, … Continue reading Earbuds must tangle!
What the eff is an fMRI?
Some parts of the brain “light up” when we feel certain feelings, or listen to music, or tackle math problems. Certainly you’ve stumbled upon such news, given how frequently they end up in mainstream media. The technique used for these studies (and many others in neurosciences) is called functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (or fMRI), which is an amazing thing, but also seems to have a … Continue reading What the eff is an fMRI?
Who will win the NBA finals?
What if I told you that you can simulate an NBA game (say, tonight’s Finals Game 4) just by flipping a coin? If it’s heads, chalk two points for the Cavs, if it’s tails, two points for the Warriors. Repeat a hundred times or so and presto! Game simulated. You can even see the narrative of the game unfolding: the balanced start, the Dubs offense … Continue reading Who will win the NBA finals?
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